Gomez gets hat trick, joins Isles as coach

Islanders head coach Doug Weight continued to do things his own way Tuesday, hiring Scott Gomez, the former Devil and Ranger, to join his staff.

It was a decision that might have been a little outside the box, as Gomez has no professional coaching experience, but it had been in the making for a while. It continued Weight’s rebuilding of the staff since he became the full-time headman after half a season as the interim coach, falling one point short of the postseason following the firing of Jack Capuano in January.

“Scott brings an immense amount of hockey knowledge to our coaching staff,” Weight said in a statement. “His offensive instincts, expertise on the power play and the way he could control the game with his skating and smarts, are all key elements that we want implemented into our group.”

Weight made it clear recently he prefers coaches with NHL playing experience and not too far removed from the game. He made his first hire last month by signing former teammate Luke Richardson, who had been a head coach at AHL Binghamton just two seasons ago.

Gomez, 37, retired before last season, which he spent doing sporadic work for Devils’ telecasts on the MSG Networks. Gomez had a 16year NHL career, which began with the Devils, with whom he won the Calder Trophy in 2000 along with the first of two Stanley Cup championships.

He then signed a seven-year, $51.5 million deal with the Rangers in the summer of 2007, disappointing on Broadway until he was part of the deal before the 2009-10 season that sent him to the Canadiens and brought back Ryan McDonagh.

After three seasons with Montreal, Gomez bounced around, playing for the Sharks, Panthers, a short stint back with the Devils, Blues and then 13 games for the Senators in 2015-16.

The Islanders are not going to play six games at the refurbished Nassau Coliseum next season, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to The Post on Tuesday night.

This comes despite a clause in the lease agreement between developer Bruce Ratner and the county that promises four regularseason games and two preseason games for the next decade, with a monetary penalty for Ratner if it doesn’t come through.